I saw a quote on Instagram a few years ago which simply said “music is the answer” and it has stuck with me ever since. No matter what the question is, music is always the answer. Whether you are someone who likes to head-bang to heavy metal or prefer the quieter strains of classical compositions, music is the glue that binds us all together.
As a child, I was brought up on an eclectic range of genres. Everything from Madness and The Who, to Meatloaf and Spandau Ballet shaped my formative years. If I think back, almost every childhood memory has a song of some sort cementing itself in to my subconscious. Almost like my own personal soundtrack.
Whether it’s the football chants sung on the terraces which take me back to Saturdays spent with my dad at White Hart Lane, or the endless hours my brother spent listening to “C’est la vie” by B*witched during his girl band phase. Each song instantly spirits me back to a different time and place.
During my teenage years, I discovered bands such as Green Day, Blink 182 and Muse. It’s also where my deep and long-lasting love for Nirvana began. Those years of teen angst and family upheaval were survivable because bands and songwriters had the lyrics to explain how I felt at a time when I was unable to put words to the emotions.
Music was the main topic of conversation during my first date with my husband. We had met online and when we eventually plucked up the courage to meet in person, we spent the evening talking about my love of Queen and his obsession for Guns n Roses – a love which I can’t bring myself to share.
The mutual ground of music meant that a potentially awkward first date with a ‘weirdo off the internet’ turned in to a much more enjoyable experience. I eventually learned to tolerate his love of Guns n Roses, even if I still think that Axl Rose sounds like a strangled cat with sinus issues.
Whether I am happy or sad, angry or at peace, music is there for me. I am listening to Nirvana and the Goo Goo Dolls while I write this. Lyrics help to transport me to another world and process emotions when I don’t always have the ability to do this by myself. Bass lines and chord structures help me to vent pent-up energy when all I want to do is dance.
As I write this, the UK has just entered another national lockdown in a bid to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic. I am very aware that we will all be feeling lonely and isolated to one extent or another as we once again try to navigate the worlds of remote learning, reduced travel and working from home. In our own little bubbles, with little-to-no interaction with anyone else, it would be easy for feelings of desperation and anxiety to kick in.
Humans are sociable creatures by nature, so this feeling of loneliness can be incredibly damaging for our mental health. Especially when we are constantly surrounded by images of perfect, happy people on social media who always seem to have their lives together.
Throughout the pandemic, radio stations and music legends have embraced the togetherness that music brings. There has been an enormous surge in live-streaming acoustic living room gigs and kitchen discos. Huge names from the music world have worked to bring their music in to our homes in a way that has never been done before, because they understand the healing nature of songs.
If you are feeling alone, I urge you to put on your favourite playlist, turn the volume up to eleven and let it all out. Dance, scream, cry, whatever it takes. I promise you that somewhere out there, someone else will be doing the same thing.
One day, we will be together again. We will dance together, sing together, laugh together and cry together.
Until then, music is the answer.